93 Vert Build (lots of pictures!)

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MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Hi, I'm Molly :D

So, I bought my first car (1989 240 hatch) for $950 in August or September of last year. I can't remember which.

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That's the one ^^^

Anyway, it was starting to become a pain in the a**, so when someone offered me $2,000 for it, I didn't hesitate to sell it. Turned around and bought this the same day with the $2,000 I got for my car. It also came with this hilariously awful island music CD, which I insisted upon keeping. Welcome to Florida.

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I already put it on the registry, really glad to see someone keeping count! She has 126k miles on her, and she's pretty much stock. The guy I bought it from said he was the second owner, but he never registered it in his name. It belonged to a woman before me, so it seems destined to remain a woman's car :)

THE BAD (what we plan to fix):

-Back window is garbage (I know... everyone has this problem!)
-Leaks like mad! Quite a bit of rust on the body in front of the rear view mirror. It actually falls off on me while driving -.-
-AC and heat don't work
-Cruise control doesn't work
-Pop up lights won't go down unless you do it manually
-Windshield wipers don't work
-Seat belts don't lock up
-Cracked dash (My fiance just put in an uncracked. Problem solved!)
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-Dent on trunk, you can kind of see it here
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-Carpet looks awful
-Door panels are not so hot
-Seal is screwed up
-Was missing mirror glass on both side mirrors (now only one)
-Came with these awful looking fog lights, which we have since taken off
-Power steering leaks
-There is no coolant overflow.
-Needs new tires
-Interior plastics were warped out of shape (Leon, my fiance, fixed this with a heat gun)
-Back seat was all ripped up

The list goes on. We haven't done much on it yet. By we, I mean mostly my fiance. He's teaching me how to do some of this myself, but I admit to being easily frustrated with it. Here's what we have done

-New dash, shown above
-Removed rear seat. Maybe will get it reupholstered? Not sure yet.
-Plastidipped some of the rear interior. We got bored, wanted to see what it would look like
From this: Image
To this: Image

Oh, and of course we're going to put this in it

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...



Just kidding! I wish. He traded it for a roll cage, gauge cluster (which reads up to 180mph!), and coilovers for his car. Ah well. At least I'm getting his old coilovers! And as it turns out, the gauge cluster can't be used on a 6cyl (he has an rb25), so it might end up in my car! Hope to give you some more updates on this soon :)
Last edited by MissMollyAnnax0 on Tue Jan 22, 2013 6:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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PapaSmurf2k3
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Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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Welcome to NICO Molly!

For all the faults you listed, that car sure does LOOK good.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:Welcome to NICO Molly!

For all the faults you listed, that car sure does LOOK good.

Thanks :) I just have to remind myself that it's worth the effort. It runs sooooooo smoothly. It's hard to tell if the car is on or off when you're sitting inside it. I definitely don't miss the way my old single cam rattled.

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biggie
Moderator
Posts: 10330
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2002 2:31 am
Car: '16 Q70L/'14 Q60S Vert/'19 Armada/'09 FX35
Location: Clemmons, NC

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Howdy and welcome. If we can help just ask, most of us probably have some parts laying around as well.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Soooo... progress on the vert is coming slowly. Leon fixed the windshield wipers by wiring it together with the ignition(I think?). I forget why he did it this way, but it's just a temporary and hilarious fix. I have one of those LED key rings on the car, so whenever you turn the windshield wipers on, the keyring light turns on and off with them. Should get a video of this. Seriously though, the guy who messed with the wiring on this thing before us wasn't the brightest :/ He told us to cut the wire to the A/C compressor to get it to work. We're always running into those kind of surprises with this car. Cleaned it up yesterday, but some things are just a pain. I'll get some more pictures on here later. Look at how clean under the hood came out. The stickers look new haha

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I'm now more convinced than ever that a smoker owned this car at some point because of all the yellow nastiness which came off of the interior plastics. Vacuumed the carpet, but it is pretty much beyond repair. Really open to some suggestions on the car. We're definitely going to get rid of the pillar doors and replace them with coupe doors. Going for the flat body line look.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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biggie wrote:Howdy and welcome. If we can help just ask, most of us probably have some parts laying around as well.

Thanks :) I need a new seal for the top around the windshield. Do you know anyone who might have one, or do you know of somewhere I might be able to buy one?

Tiger51
Posts: 190
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:20 pm
Car: 1989 Nissan 240SX XE
1992 Nissan 240SX Convertible

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What did you use to clean the underside of the hood? Looks mint. The rest of the car, as someone else pointed out, looks good, even if mechanically it isn't. I'm digging the Plasti-dipped rear panels.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Tiger51 wrote:What did you use to clean the underside of the hood? Looks mint. The rest of the car, as someone else pointed out, looks good, even if mechanically it isn't. I'm digging the Plasti-dipped rear panels.
My fiance did the hood, and I was inside the car vacuuming not paying attention but I'm pretty sure what he used was Mother's Synthetic Wax. He said that's the original paint on the hood too... crazy! And on the real panels, going to sand them down until they're smooth and plasti-dip them again or paint them. Tonight's project includes fixing interior plastics with a heat gun. I'll get some pictures of that :D

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biggie
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Posts: 10330
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2002 2:31 am
Car: '16 Q70L/'14 Q60S Vert/'19 Armada/'09 FX35
Location: Clemmons, NC

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MissMollyAnnax0 wrote: Thanks :) I need a new seal for the top around the windshield. Do you know anyone who might have one, or do you know of somewhere I might be able to buy one?
Not made anymore that I know of and no aftermarket ones. Everyone's is cracked I believe.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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While I'm waiting for pictures to upload to photobucket from tonight's project, here are pictures from when we cleaned it up. Still needs serious help, but it looks a thousand times better.
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We were a little delayed on the heat gun project but tonight we got to it. Here's my miniature write up!

First, we got all of the staples out. I used my trusty leopard print hammer to do this
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(You know you like it!)

But Leon used a pair of pliers and a staple remover. Once that was done, we used the heat gun to push the plastic back in place. Then we put a few rivets in it so it would stay in place. If you're going to do this, be careful how deep you drill to put the rivets in or you might go through the carpet on the other side. Also, as I learned, be careful with the heat gun or you might burn the mesh speaker cover!



End result:
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Even sturdier than Nissan staples!!! (He even put a few in the speaker cover to keep it in place)


And then I cleaned it up with some serious degreaser! The picture doesn't do the yellow nastiness justice. SOOOOOO gross.

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And that's pretty much it. We only got one done tonight. We are going to do the other tomorrow, and I'll get pictures for when we get it in the car. Definitely looks waaayyyy better.

amorasin
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:53 pm
Car: (Daily) 1992 S13 Kouki Vert
(RB20) 1990 S13 Coupe
Location: Seattle, WA

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Im having a hard time understanding how you used rivets without going all the way through. Could you dummy it down for me, id like to do this to my panel asap

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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amorasin wrote:Im having a hard time understanding how you used rivets without going all the way through. Could you dummy it down for me, id like to do this to my panel asap
We measured the thickness of the panel and marked the drill bit with tape to know where to stop drilling.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Let me know how it goes!

94_240sx
Posts: 7673
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 5:56 am
Car: 94_240SX
Location: DFW, TX
Contact:

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amorasin wrote:Im having a hard time understanding how you used rivets without going all the way through. Could you dummy it down for me, id like to do this to my panel asap
Good job.
Use these. It's safer and works great.
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For the fabric on door panels, I took them to the self carwash place, sprayed fabric cleaner, let it seat for a minute and power washed them. Look new after that.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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94_240sx wrote:
amorasin wrote:Im having a hard time understanding how you used rivets without going all the way through. Could you dummy it down for me, id like to do this to my panel asap
Good job.
Use these. It's safer and works great.
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For the fabric on door panels, I took them to the self carwash place, sprayed fabric cleaner, let it seat for a minute and power washed them. Look new after that.

I like the door panel fabric idea. I'll probably do that. I'm failing to see how your idea is safer, though. This job wasn't exactly dangerous lol

amorasin
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:53 pm
Car: (Daily) 1992 S13 Kouki Vert
(RB20) 1990 S13 Coupe
Location: Seattle, WA

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Thank you, both of you. I will try the screw route first. My panel fabric is non salvageable, previous owner put a screw through the front to hold it in place. Ive wrapped it twice but my skills there are lacking lol but it'll do for now.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Just thought I'd throw in a quick update. A/C is working :) Question for you guys though, anyone have a legitimate fix for a top leak?

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blkvrtswp
Posts: 509
Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 6:45 pm
Car: 93 240SX Convertible
SR20DET FP 20G Turbo
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY

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Where is it leaking? I have problems at the edge where top meets the door windows are but it is probably just window alignment - it's a PITA to get perfect.

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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The worst leak is in the windshield area. It also leaks because the quarter windows don't align correctly. My fiance and I don't mind the pain as long as there's a real fix for it. Did you fix yours?

240jaysx
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:57 pm
Car: 2005 mustang gt vert/red interior(Present)
1989 240sx coupe(past)
1991 240sx coupe(past)
1993 240sx vert(Present)
Location: Huntington Long Island N.Y.

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Hey Molly! Nice car good luck with everything!

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blkvrtswp
Posts: 509
Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 6:45 pm
Car: 93 240SX Convertible
SR20DET FP 20G Turbo
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY

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My leak is from door window alignment, it is very minor. Window alignment is easy to understand and adjust, difficult to get perfect.

If your front windshield seals are leaking it is time to replace them, you need to find someone parting out a vert. I have seen several on Facebook in 240sx groups and especially on Zilvia Marketplace. Sorry for the non-NICO info but you cannot beat the volume of traffic on Zilvia Marketplace.

You can also try courtesyparts.com you never know what they might have still available for verts.

Good luck!

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Thanks for all the help everyone :) She's officially traded for a coupe shell and built sr. That full cage, fuel cell, widebody, 5spd rhd life started calling for me lol

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Which leads me to my next point, if anyone needs my stock trunk with spoiler in the Orlando area lmk!

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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Lets see some pics of the coupe!

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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[quote="PapaSmurf2k3"]Lets see some pics of the coupe![/quote
haha, absolutely as soon as she's home. She's getting ready to go on a trailer as we speak. The trade is an absolute steal, the guy just needs a running car because he's about to lose his job. Very excited about this one, and now I've owned all the s13s lol

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Okay, one picture at a time (posting from my phone). The car is very much apart but Leon is excited about putting it together. Really only missing a few things, despite the way it would appear lol Image

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Image

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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Image

MissMollyAnnax0
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:46 am
Car: 1991 240sx coupe
Location: Winter Park, FL

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